the tree and the reed
said a tree to a Reed that was growing at its foot,”
why do you not plant your feet deeply in the ground,
And raise your head boldly in the air as I do?”
Who shall pluck me up by the roots”
or bow my head to the ground?”
But it soon had to repent of its boasting,
For a hurricane arose
Which tore it up from its roots.
And cast it a useless log on the ground,
While the little Reed, bending to the force of the wind,
Soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over.